The Italian Connection

Dear Readers,  April showers bring May flowers and an abbondanza of Italian connections. *** President Lincoln was assassinated on April 14, 1865. If not for the assassination of President Lincoln, there would not be a Pullman Company. In 1865, Mr. George Mortimer Pullman was building railroad …

Dear readers,  A saint he ain’t but a reader wanted to know if I had any information on a saint with a Rossi surname who had been canonized in the late 1800s. I checked an old edition of Butler’s Lives of …

Dear Readers,  March, the third month of the year has 31 days and is short for Martius mensis, “the month of Mars.” In Roman mythology, Mars was the god of war and agriculture. Nerio, a minor Roman goddess was his wife. Jupiter …

Dear readers, The many Italian connections in March continue:  Judge John J. Sirica was born on March 23, 1904, in Waterbury, Connecticut. He was the US district court judge whose search for the truth about the 1972 Watergate break-in was the first step leading …

Dear Readers, January is a month when we can all use a little “pick me up,” so I thought I would reprint my original column on tiramisù! As 2023 begins, my little corner of the world, the Italian Connection column …

Dear Readers, In February we traditionally pause to celebrate lovers (Valentine’s Day) and Presidents. Once Abe Lincoln (February 12) and George Washington (February 22) were honored individually; now they are collectively celebrated on President’s Day (February 20). Our third President, …

Dear Readers, January jottings with an Italian connection. For all my readers born before 1945 consider the changes we have witnessed as we begin 2023. We were born before television, before penicillin, before polio shots, frozen food, Xerox, plastic, contact …

Dear Readers, Just in time for your end-of-year parties, here comes the lyrics of one of Italy’s 1950s favorites, Volare, so you, or any of your senior citizens’ relatives and friends, can sing along, or at least reminisce! The best-known …

Dear Readers, December has many Italian Connections. Following are a few December Birthday: Gianni Versace: 12-2-1946 Frank Sinatra: 12-12-1915 Louis Prima: 12-7-1910 Carlo Ponti: 12-11-1913 Fiorello La Guardia: 12-1882 *** Giacomo Puccini, born on the 22nd of December 1858, is …

Dear Readers, Christmas sing-alongs are always fun, be they in Italian, English or a little of both. Here are some lyrics to help you and your family get started: Silent Night Silent Night, Holy Night, All is calm, all is …